Traveling to Chicago

nobleh5
nobleh5 Posts: 47 Member
in Chit-Chat
The fiancé and I are are planning a trip to Chicago.
Are there any places we "must see" or anything we "must do"?
I have never been.

Replies

  • Rocbola
    Rocbola Posts: 1,998 Member
    Depends on what you like. If you've never been, you'd probably want to do some of the usual tourist things:
    The bean
    Grant Park
    Wrigley Field
    Sears Tower, the ledge! (YES i said SEARS!!!!!!)
    River Taxi
    Museum of Science and History
    Mag Mile
    Navy Pier



    If you are into food, there are too many places to list. Check out
    Nuevo Leon.
    Hot Doug's.
    Pizza Uno, or Gino's East, or any of the good Chicago pie places.
    Di ck's Last Resort
    Pretty much anywhere.


    STAY OUT OF THE WEST AND SOUTH SIDES AT NIGHT! Sorry, but it's true.
  • nsimon24
    nsimon24 Posts: 115 Member
    What time of year are you coming and what are your interests? Chicago is an awesome city, and there is something for everyone, but can get expensive fast (not as bad as New York!)
  • dtimedwards
    dtimedwards Posts: 319 Member
    Museum of Science & Industry

    Hot Doug's (Friday they have duck fat fries)

    Molly's Cupcakes

    del Seoul

    Rock & Roll McDonalds (purely for photographic purposes)


    ****s Last Resort? Really? That's as generic as Hooters... and there's no tits.
  • chelseaalicia
    chelseaalicia Posts: 164 Member
    I was there in February and it was awesome- The Purple Pig is an absolute must if you like food at all :P Also- Pastorale is a great cheese shop with awesome (and cheap!) sandwiches and hit up any of the many Intelligentsia coffee shops (broadway, logan square, monadnock building, merchandise mart 1870, etc). Have a great time!
  • carts1179
    carts1179 Posts: 15 Member
    Their is something for everyone in Chicago. If you are staying downtown all the hotels have concierge service to help you out with things to do based on your tastes. I would say some of the big touristy things to do are Willis Tower ledge, Deep dish pizza, and their are a lot of good boat tours.
  • Rocbola
    Rocbola Posts: 1,998 Member

    ****s Last Resort? Really? That's as generic as Hooters... and there's no tits.
    Last time i was there was '98, and it was far, far from a hooters. It was a pretty cool place.

    And did you really just criticize DLR but advocate R&R Mcdo in the same post?
  • vjohn04
    vjohn04 Posts: 2,276 Member
    I was there in February and it was awesome- The Purple Pig is an absolute must if you like food at all :P Also- Pastorale is a great cheese shop with awesome (and cheap!) sandwiches and hit up any of the many Intelligentsia coffee shops (broadway, logan square, monadnock building, merchandise mart 1870, etc). Have a great time!

    I second a vote for The Purple Pig. Really innovative and unique menu. Definitely worth the trip but be prepared to wait unless you get there in the off peak hours
  • nsimon24
    nsimon24 Posts: 115 Member
    Check out Groupon and Goldstar (Goldstar has better discounts) for ideas as well, I think it is Goldstar that offers quite a few tours. Also you can get tickets for a lot of the local shows and theater from them. It all depends on how "touristy" you want to get!

    Personally, I would suggest -

    Walking through Millennium Park/Grant Park and the "Bean"
    The Art Institute
    Pizza at Ginos or Uno's - Deep Dish!
    Take the train from Union Station out to the Brookfield Zoo and spend a day - you can walk easily to the zoo from the station there.
    Museum of Science & Industry
    Adler Planetarium/Shedd Aquarium
    Architectural Boat Tour down the river
    Water Tower Place - mostly a mall like every other, but still one of those places that is "Chicago" and a walk along the Mag Mile window shopping
    Portillo's or someplace similar for a Chicago Style Hotdog (Drag it through the garden with sport peppers!)
    Rent a bike at Navy Pier or Millenium Park and ride along the lakefront trail.

    The Loop pretty much rolls up the sidewalks after business hours, and things tend to liven up a bit closer to the Lake or towards the North side - I agree with the advice to stay out of the South Side and parts of the West Side after dark, The Museum of Science and Industry isn't in a bad area as long as you stay on/near the campus and clear out before dark (at least it used to be a touchy neighborhood, admittedly it has been a while). Ohio Street and Navy Pier have all the touristy things, but sometimes there are events at the Pier that are worth attending.
  • LolBroScience
    LolBroScience Posts: 4,537 Member

    ****s Last Resort? Really? That's as generic as Hooters... and there's no tits.
    Last time i was there was '98, and it was far, far from a hooters. It was a pretty cool place.

    And did you really just criticize DLR but advocate R&R Mcdo in the same post?

    Do you even Chicago bro?

    ****'s last resort, really....? Pay money for crappy food and people who suck at insulting you? lolplzgo.

    OP:

    Sears Tower (No.... its not the Willis Tower, and it will never be the Willis Tower)
    The Bean
    Navy Pier

    Food:

    Chicago Deep Dish if you haven't done it yet.
    I will second Molly's Cupcakes, although it's in Lincoln Park.
  • dtimedwards
    dtimedwards Posts: 319 Member

    ****s Last Resort? Really? That's as generic as Hooters... and there's no tits.
    Last time i was there was '98, and it was far, far from a hooters. It was a pretty cool place.

    And did you really just criticize DLR but advocate R&R Mcdo in the same post?

    There's a DLR in just about every city. It's like Applebee's with "edgey" waiters. BFD.

    and yes, I DID advocate going to Rock & Roll McDonalds because McDonalds is the place to rock. It is a restaurant where they buy food to eat. It is a good place to listen to the music. People flock here to get down to the rock music. Rock over London, rock on Chicago! Wheaties, breakfast of champions!
  • Rocbola
    Rocbola Posts: 1,998 Member
    There's a DLR in just about every city. It's like Applebee's with "edgey" waiters. BFD.

    and yes, I DID advocate going to Rock & Roll McDonalds because McDonalds is the place to rock. It is a restaurant where they buy food to eat. It is a good place to listen to the music. People flock here to get down to the rock music. Rock over London, rock on Chicago! Wheaties, breakfast of champions!
    I didn't know it was a chain! I went there once for a company Christmas party. It was a lot of fun. Of course, i was a teenager, and my boss rented 2 limos, and threw a few cases of beer into the younger people's limo and said "Shhh, don't tell your parents!"

    Either way, any of the restaurants on Dearborn are pretty neat. It's hard to find a bad restaurant in that part of the city. If you can afford rent down there, you are doing something right.

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